Sytematic Beginning – Chap. 4, Act 1, Strip 1

So, here we go again – welcome to the first strip of the new chapter of BMC, which shall, however, remain nameless a little while longer. I’ll change the page header as soon as the title card shows up in the strip itself. =P

But we aren’t quite there, yet – this is only the boring narrative part that is a feature at the beginning of many classic B-movies. It’s supposed to set the stage, or give the big picture…or just drone on in a pseudo-scientifical or pseudo-philosophical vein to add a smallish pretense of class to the proceedings. Few B-movies are honest enough to begin with a chorus chanting “tits and gore, tits and gore” at length, no matter how appropriate that would be in some cases. You can have that in the movie itself, but the introduction needs to at least pretend there is a bigger context or valid point to all of it.

Having the narration set to some footage of the solar system is particularly effective and appropriate. For one thing, it’s quite obviously helpful to intergalactic travellers, who might otherwise get confused as to which solar system the movie is supposed to take place in. Just imagine how confused an intergalactic traveller would be by the first few minutes of “Frankenstein” if they erroneously assumed the story to take place in HD 10180. I mean, bizarre – it wouldn’t make any sense at all in that context. ._.

The second thing about the solar system beginning is that it puts things into proper perspective. The vastness of the solar system makes human concerns seem small and insignificant by comparison – and that’s a good thing, because if the audience feels insignificant, they’re going to be less critical of the movie, or at the very least less likely to demand their money back. Hopefully. ._.